Matching the hatch became everything thirty years ago and wets match nothing.....

Corbo, I'm not certain thats entirely true. Take the quill gordon wet, for example. This wet fly pattern matches 2 different stages of the insects life cycle. The qg nymphs actually shed their shucks at the bottom of the stream and come to the surface as an adult mayfly. I've found the wet fly pattern to be great for this stage.

Although I know absolutely nothing about catskill & new england aquatic insects, I'd imagine you're correct about the crazy looking wets with married wings of 3 different colors being nothing more than bling....and its possible that these are the wets you were referring to.